The article deals with the content aspects of information retrieval in order to select the optimal management solutions in conditions of incomplete certainty and risk. Within the framework of the pragmatic approach of information theory, the heterogeneous structure of messages circulating in the mass media is considered. The special attention is drown to the fact that in contrast to the disparate data, the greatest value for the decision-maker is the knowledge component of the messages available for analysis, which have a sign of reliability. The relation of risk as the characteristics of the decision-making situation, with a degree certainty and accordingly, the value of information using for selection decisions in conditions of defi ciency of time is examined.